Last Friday, appearing on Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast, Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson made headlines when he criticized the way the Patriots do things.
"I just think that the Patriot Way is a fear-based organization," Johnson said. "Obviously, do they win? Hell yes, they win. They've won for a long time. Do I think people enjoy [it] and can say, 'I had a lot of fun playing there?' No, I don't. That's just the God's honest truth. They're successful, but when they go to interviews, they act like [expletive] robots. Hey, stop being a [expletive]. We can be cordial for a little bit. You only get to do this job one time, so let's have fun while we're doing it. Not to be reckless, but I'd much rather have fun and win a Super Bowl than be miserable and win five Super Bowls. But hey, it is what it is."
He took a lot of heat for the comments, including multiple former Patriots players saying they had a lot of fun while winning Super Bowls.
Johnson went back on the podcast this Friday to clarify what he meant.
"I just want to have fun. I don't want to take practice too serious," he said. "I am not a serious individual and get the job done. Here is the thing, the Patriots, obviously they have won five Super Bowls, so it is the Patriot Way to win the Super Bowl. Does that mean everyone has to act the same way, and do the same thing? Is that necessarily the guidelines to win the Super Bowl?"
Added Johnson: "They kept interviewing ex-Patriots players. What do you think they are going to say? 'I won Super Bowls. We had a great time.' They aren't going to bad-mouth their coach. They aren't going to say what they really want to say. Do you think that is going to happen? Hell no that is not going to happen."
Apparently even fans of the Patriots have reached out to Johnson.
"And everybody in Boston, hey I've got hate mail I still haven't read," he said. "I'm looking forward to reading it."
